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Medical Students Serve In Thomassique
A medical team from the U.S. visited St. Joseph Clinic in Thomassique the first week in May (2010) for on a trip that
was truly unique – unique for the members of the team and unique for the people of Thomassique. The team consisted of
nine second-year medical students from the Duke School of Medicine, a faculty advisor, three U.S. doctors, and a nurse. The
students performed two valuable services in the community: they operated a mobile clinic in three remote villages and they
offered an eyeglass clinic from St. Joseph Clinic. They had many learning opportunities, including hands-on work with patients
through the mobile clinics and the eyeglass clinic, side-by-side work with the doctors, including scrubbing in for surgeries,
serving as pharmacists, witnessing births in the maternity ward, and a chance to see and experience many aspects of the Haitian
culture, including time in the weekly market, time with the children, and time in the provincial capital, Hinche.
The journey to Thomassique was long, requiring an over-night stay in Banica, on the Haitian/Dominican Republic border,
after two flights and a six-hour ride by bus from Santo Domingo to Banica. All of this while each team member carried two
50 lb. suitcases filled with medicine and medical supplies. Early the following morning, the team climbed aboard an open Army
truck for the final 18-mile ride from Banica to Thomassique, a trip that would take almost 3 hours because of bad road conditions.
Once the team arrived at St. Joseph Clinic, they got right to work, unpacking suitcases and organizing the supplies. The
following morning, they split into three teams of three students each, one team forming the first mobile clinic, one staying
in Thomassique to organize the eyeglass clinic, and the third working in the surgery suite.
The mobile clinics were a milestone for the residents of Thomassique’s outlying villages. St. Joseph Clinic
is the ONLY healthcare facility in this region of about 125,000 people. Residents of the villages have to walk 2 to 4 hours
to get from their homes to the Clinic. For most, this was the first time they had healthcare close to home. And they turned
out in droves, more than 200 showing up for each of the clinics.
Each team of Duke students got to work in
one village, under the direction of two of the U.S. doctors. They treated patients and learned how to deal with the limitations
of practicing medicine in a Third World country (i.e., with no electricity, medicines limited to what we were able to bring,
and water that had to be treated before using it). They also learned when to refer patients to St. Joseph Clinic or other
clinics in neighboring towns. On the other hand, they saw how the leaders of the villages were so very grateful for their
service and how they had organized the people and maintained order throughout the day.
The eyeglass clinic
was also an exciting opportunity for the people of Thomassique. In the course of four days, the Duke students examined the
eyes of hundreds of residents and dispensed more than 500 pairs of glasses. Lions Clubs had donated the glasses.
Each night, the students met with the U.S. and
Haitian doctors to review the events of the day and discuss cases they had seen. They also saw the construction of a new wing
that is being added to St. Joseph Clinic to accommodate overnight patients. They came to understand some of the challenges
of building a healthcare facility in the Third World where there is no electrical power, no potable water, and no sanitation
other than what can be incorporated into the facility design.
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